In the AISLES
the
art of
A good
brew
For many people the day can’t start without a good
cup of coffee. And as the beverage’s popularity
continues to grow exponentially, so do the options.
The Australian Retailer takes a look at six forms the
popular beverage takes.
26 The Australian RETAILER
In the AISLES
Coffee
Pod
Whole
Beans
The favourite option of time-poor
consumers, coffee pods take the work
out of making the morning brew.
maker, the popularity of coffee pods is
Coffee pods’ popularity has skyrocketed in recent years due to its
ability to simplify the brewing process
by eliminating the need to measure
out portions and flavourings, while
also guaranteeing a top-notch
beverage, every time. There is also the
added bonus of a long life span as
the individual packaging means the
possibility of the coffee being exposed
to air and light is minimised.
the category’s soaring success with its
customers find a coffee blend they like
in Brazil.
Most commonly associated with
Nespresso, the company that first
launched the capsule machines in 1986,
a spate of alternative pod machines
have been released onto the market
since 2010, when a patent on the
Nespresso system expired.
in a pod range they can get a similar
The two most economically important varieties of coffee
flavour to that of a café, but minus the
plants are the Arabica – which accounts for 75-80 per cent
fuss and mess associated with traditional
of the coffee produced worldwide – and the Robusta with
coffee machines.
20 per cent.
“We were getting constant requests
Whole beans can be ground to an array of consistencies from
from customers about whether there
coarse, which is suitable for a French press or percolator, to
were any pods available with our
super fine commonly used for espresso machines.
What’s more, with Roy Morgan Research
indicating in 2014 up to 44 per cent of
Australians owned an at-home coffee
particular Bean Bar coffee blend.
only set to rise.
Bean Bar director Nitin Jakhwal credits
ease of use.
“Pod machines are easier to use;
it’s only a click of a button to make
a good coffee. You don’t have to
There are few things more decadent than grinding your
own coffee beans for a fresh cup of coffee. However,
despite being referred to as ‘beans’, coffee beans are, in
worry about the grind, how the milk
fact, seeds.
is coming through. It’s really easy to
First introduced to the Americas around 1723, South America
operate,” Nitin says.
is now responsible for approximately 45 per cent of the
Nitin says another major draw is once
world’s total coffee exports, with the majority of this grown
That was why we started looking into
producing pods,” he says.
However, one major factor to bear in mind is that once
ground, whole beans lose their freshness quickly. Once
exposed to air or heat coffee oxidises, flavour begins to
deteriorate and the oils become rancid and evaporate. As
a result, it’s best to grind whole beans for immediate use.
Drip
Coffee
One of the stalwart choices of at-home coffee makers,
drip coffee is a method that involves pouring water
over roasted, coarsely ground coffee beans that are
contained in a paper filter.
Griffiths Bros director Chris Togias says drip coffee has
remained a favourite with their consumers for so long
due to its convenience.
“The equipment to make it is quite cheap. It’s for the
people at home who want a good coffee quickly, that’s
not made from instant coffee,” he says.
“To make it, there’s not much science behind it
either. Effectively you get a measuring spoon, push
the required button and a couple of minutes later it’s
ready. And what you get is a consistent product too.”
Drip coffee produces a clear, light-bodied beverage
that is free from sediments.
However, a new take on this classic option that has hit
Australian shores in recent years is the pour over method
– a Japanese method normally used to prepare an
28 The Australian RETAILER
individual cup of coffee.
Made using a special kettle, carafe and good beans
contained in a filter, hot water is slowly poured over the
coffee and allowed to drip into the cup below over a
few minutes. The end result is a more flavoursome and
refined brew.
“The best way to describe the pour over method is it’s
putting theatre into coffee making,” Chris says.
“Effectively a pour over method is the same as when you
go to a café and there’s a barista behind the counter and
you hear them click the grinder and flush the machine. To
make a pour over coffee you still use a gooseneck kettle
but the temperature has to be at the right level and you
can play with the extraction of the coffee and get a lot of
taste nuances out of it.
“You do tend to get a better taste out of the pour
over, because you generally use specialty blends, but
to do a pour over you have to set the kettle, put in the
coffee and make sure it blooms properly. It can be time
consuming.”
Decaffeinated
coffee
Despite caffeine being one of the main
caffeine from the green beans are ethyl
drawcards of a good cup of coffee,
acetate, methylene chloride, water and
decaffeinated coffee nevertheless has its fans.
liquid carbon dioxide, however, each of these
A variety of methods can be used to remove
caffeine from coffee, with the process
normally performed on unroasted whole
processes share the same basic stages of
swelling the coffee beans with water or steam
to make the caffeine available for extraction.
beans. After being steamed, the coffee
Steam stripping occurs to remove all
beans are then rinsed with a solvent that
solvent residues after the caffeine has been
extracts the caffeine. This process is repeated
extracted, then the beans are dried back to
until the caffeine content meets the required
their normal moisture content.
standard – 97 per cent of the caffeine
removed to meet the international standard,
or 99.9 per cent caffeine-free by mass for the
standard set by the European Union.
The four most common methods of removing
According to the International Coffee
Organisation, the cup quality of a
decaffeinated coffee must be in line with
regular coffee. As a result many varieties
retain their specific flavour properties.
Coffee Bag
Instant
Coffee
Invented and patented in 1890 by New Zealander
David Strang, instant coffee – also known as soluble
coffee and coffee powder – is derived from coffee
beans that have been roasted and ground before
being extracted with hot water to recover the
coffee flavour and aroma. This coffee extract is then
either freeze- or spray-dried.
In spray-drying, the most common drying process,
the coffee extract is sprayed into a stream of hot air
at the top of a cylindrical tower. The droplets dry as
they fall, eventually becoming a fine powder by the
time it reaches the bottom.
The perfect combination of tea bag
technology and freshly ground coffee,
coffee bags are designed to provide the
convenience of instant coffee but still
maintain the flavour and consistency of
properly brewed coffee.
of coffee bags was the capacity to easily
When freeze-dried, the coffee extract is frozen
travel with them.
to about -40°C and then cut into granules. These
Commonly individually sealed so as to
preserve the coffee grinds, coffee bags
produce a coffee similar to that of plunger
coffee, while also removing the guesswork
about portion sizes from the equation.
“Using a pyramid-shaped bag –
Jed’s Coffee Co brew master Stuart
Hargie says another popular component
“Each coffee bag is individually sealed to
granules are then dried at a low temperature.
lock in freshness, making it easy to take
Perhaps the most common form of coffee made at
coffee bags anywhere you go," he says.
home due to the ease of preparation, instant coffee
traditionally reserved for premium tea
also contains a lower caffeine content than that of
brewed coffee.
– also lets the freshly-ground coffee move
Market research company Euromonitor has released
and tumble about inside the bag for a
studies that show more than 75 per cent of retail
plunger-quality brew, while the filter is
brewed coffee consumed in both Australia and
designed to unlock all the strength, body
New Zealand is instant, while the worldwide sales of
and flavour with no mess or fuss."
instant coffee have nearly tripled since 2000.
The Australian RETAILER 29
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